All Saints / All Souls
Many of you celebrate Halloween with your children every year with costumes and candy. Do you also celebrate All Saints Day and All Souls Day? If not, this is a good time to start (or add to) a special family tradition. St. Rose will have special Masses on each of these days and the month of November is a great opportunity to teach your children more about their Catholic faith.
All Saints Day is a Holy Day of Obligation celebrated on November 1 as a joyful feast, rejoicing with those who have entered the glory of heaven. Our children are familiar with the saints – they know stories about them; they may have been named after one. They may have a prayer card with a saint’s picture or perhaps they even wear a medal. On All Saints Day many schools encourage students to dress as, or carry a reminder of, their own saint, one that they are named after or who might have special meaning for them. Many families attend Mass together, have family prayer time, and read stories or watch a movie about their special saints.
All Souls Day is celebrated on November 2, the day after All Saints Day. St. Odilo, the fourth abbot of Cluny in France, instituted the general commemoration of all the faithful departed in 993 CE.
At every Mass, the priest remembers all those who have fallen asleep in the Lord and asks God to grant them a place of happiness, light and peace, but on this day the universal Church prays for all those who are in the “purifying suffering of Purgatory” waiting for the day when they will join the company of saints in Heaven. The prayers of the whole Church are joined with those of the saints in heaven to supply what is needed by the souls in Purgatory on their journey to Heaven by means of the Mass, indulgences and our own alms and sacrifices.
How can we help the souls in Purgatory and teach our children more about their faith? Here are a few suggestions:
Add some special practices to help the souls in Purgatory: attend Masses for the faithful departed on this day; remember your family and friends who are deceased and make an extra sacrifice for them; pray the rosary for the most forgotten soul in Purgatory.
The people whose names are written in the Book of Remembrance at St. Rose will be prayed for at Mass. Write the names of your deceased family members in the Book.
Make a poster listing your departed family and friends. Display the poster in your home as a reminder to pray for these loved ones throughout November. Remind family members to offer extra prayers and sacrifices for the souls in Purgatory.
Some families make an ofrenda, or altar, in their home as a special way to remember their deceased family members. Often decorated with brightly colored fabrics and paper cutouts, the ofrenda may have several levels (representing earth, Purgatory, and heaven.) Photos, mementos, and other items such as candles and flowers serve to remind us not only of special times with these loved ones, but also to pray for them.
Some countries celebrate All Souls Day by making special food to eat such as the English “Soul Cakes,” the Italian “Eggs in Purgatory” and “Fave dei Morti” (Beans of the Dead),”Pan de Muerto” from Mexico, and “Dry Bones Cookies” from Switzerland. You could make one of these with your family.
Visit the cemetery with children. Visits to the cemetery can be uplifting, calm and peaceful and not scary events. In some places, this day focuses on departed family members. Families go to grave sites, clean them, decorate them, and place candles there. Sometimes this might be an all-day affair, with story-telling, remembrances, picnics and celebration.
For adults and teens who want more information on gaining indulgences for the souls in Purgatory, there are a number of resources available.
Although All Souls Day is Tuesday, November 2, the entire month is often viewed as one of remembrance. At the end of one liturgical year and the beginning of the next one, November is a time for us to look back in remembrance and to look forward in hope.
-Deacon Ed Herrera